Ok I'm starting a topic, who else loves this movie?
This is one of my very fav movies so I thought it deserved to have a message board. So, favorite lines, anybody?
To love oneself is the beginning of a lifelong romance.
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MovieChat Forums > An Ideal Husband (1999) Discussion > Ok I'm starting a topic, who else loves ...
Funny script, full of paradoxes and proverbs that make you think. Great acting and I love the costumes.
I absolutely adored this movie. I loved that it was a British Movie, because its further proof us Brits make great movies. The costumes were amazing and I really believed myself to be inside the movie. Rupert Everett stole the show, and I laughed at nearly every seen he was in. Cate Blanchett is just amazing in every role she plays, and this was no exception. The character of Lady Chiltern was a favourite for me. Minnie Driver was to some extent funny, but definately had zero chemistry with Everett. Jeremy Northam was good, and he delivered his speech at the meeting to perfection. He left no doubt that he is a brilliant actor. Julianne Moore. Okay, hated the character of Laura Chevely, but I guess that was the reaction we were supposed to have, so kudos to Moore in that respect. Over all, such an amazing movie and i'm glad I caught it. I'm also glad this message board was set up, so many other fans can share their opinions.
Namarie,
Amydion
I agree it's great to see an intelligent britsh movie, who says only americans make great movies, this is proof of how talented we brits can be when we get a compelling script with wonderful actors and an creative director together, not to mention the set and costume designs, everything about this movie is simply wonderful and a refreashing change from hollywood blockbusters, it's like brain food!
My favourite lines were the ones where Everett's character quoted back Driver's lines to her, like that one about seeing being different to looking or something and I loved his father, he made me laugh with every line. How ever I also found the interaction between the lovers to be full of romance and passiona nd teh actors and actresses carried them out with perfect amount of emotion without making them ott. (that includes all loves interactions, like with Moores character and Everetts, I kinda admire her, feel sory for her and can't stand her all at the same time, so many emotions! And Moore did a wonderful job, they all did as the characters are very complex and not at all one dimensional, well done to them) I love that Driver's character at the end said she wanted him to be whatever he wanted hislef to be, she truly does love him and he does not deserve her, however if we married the women we desreved we would have such a bad time at it-love that quote. And when the father says 'I use nothing but my common sense' and Everett replys 'so my mother tells me'
What I love about oscar wilde is one moment he is touching and emotional, the next synical and hilarious, he always gives so much to his audience! To be honest I can't think of a line that isn't my favourite. This is modern british humour at it's best and it has to be one of the best adaptations ever. Everett was born to act in wilde's plays.
I'm not sure it can be classified as a "British film," because on the Country listing the USA is first. For instance, on the listing of the film Brassed Off, the UK is listed before the USA, so that can be called a "British film."
I'm not bad....I'm just drawn that way
Not to rain on your 'Rule Brittania' parade but the movie would be nothing without the play it was based on- Wilde was Irish not British!
It is a great movie though....
hehe, rule brittania, did I really get like that! Okay I apoligise, I didn't realise he wasn't british but irish. What I meant was it wasn't like an american OTT movie but had a real british feel and something we could be proud of back home, in america alot of people think we can't make movies and are just a joke!
Alos Wilde lived in england and wrote about england so the book has an english theme and feel about it.
Wilde spent most of his life outside Ireland and became more English that the English themselves.
shareLord Caversham: I don't know how you stand society. A lot of damned nobodies talking about nothing.
Lord Arthur Goring: I love talking about nothing, Father. It's the only thing I know anything about.
Lord Caversham: That is a paradox, sir. I hate paradoxes.
Laura Cheveley: Even you are not rich enough to buy back your past, no man is
Mabel Chiltern: As long as you are not serious. I have observed a worrying trend.
Lord Caversham: Married yet?
Lord Arthur Goring: Ask me again in half an hour.
Arthur Goring: It is a great nuisance. I can't find anyone else to talk to. I'm so full of interesting information, I feel like the latest edition of something or other. Well, after some consideration... so much to do, there's only one thing to be done. There comes a time in every son's life when he must, indeed, follow his father's advice: I shall go to bed at once.
Lord Caversham: You are 36.
Lord Arthur Goring: Shh! Father! I only admit to 32.
Lol, these are my favorite.
An enjoyable movie filled with witty Wilde epigrams, and a treacherous performance from Juliane Moore.
shareI like this movie :) *supports* Wilde is brilliant
shareI don't really care whether this film is British or American...it was amazing! Wit like that, wit that doesn't need to be supported by vulgarity, is so rare in modern films. (I'm just seventeen and I can say that.) I loved Rupert Everett especially, though Cate Blanchett was magnificent, too!
This is it, Joel. It's going to be gone soon.
I know.
What do we do?
Enjoy it.
Love this movie. It has one of the super bestest casts ever. Everyone in was really good and no one can dispute that Oscar Wilde's dialogue sounds so pretty when he's actually cutting someones nose off. There's no better writer to be politely insulted by. One thing that I really like about this was that Rupert Everett is so rockin' adn he actually makes you believe that he wants to smooch Minnie Driver. Suspension of disbelief at it's best.
" Wah Wah! Baby wants a Zima"-Bender
I surely did. I loved it. Old fashioned and delightful. Solid performances by a stellar cast. Minnie Driver at her most charming. Wonderfully entertaining writing. It just doesn't get any better than this. I may be silly, but I cried at the end.
Writing about movies is like dancing about architecture
doesn't sound crazy at all, I loved the movie! Oscar wilde is the one of the best writers ever, and the film did justice to the original!
shareWitty, charming, great performances. A nice blend of drama and comedy. Bravo
shareRupert Everett is hilarious! Every single one of the actors were at their best, and they all immersed themselves in their roles.
I loved how it played out, and was thrilled to see Julianne Moore in a malicious role. Brilliantly done.
The short answer would be...yes, loved it! Very funny!
I am also assuming you like P&P based on your name.
This is the DVD I pop in my player anytime I need cheering up. Every member of the cast was pitch perfect except for Minnie Driver who was a bit off key. Her bug eye, pouty mouth and saucy delivery were more suited for a Moliere French bedroom farce than Wilde's very British comedy of manners. Peter Vaughan as Phipps the butler was particularly good. He didn't say much but his understated facial expressions were priceless! Obviously, Wilde identified himself most in the character of Lord Goring and as such, he got the best lines. Rupert Everett was born to star in Wilde's plays. He is the embodiment of the debonair gentleman of leisure and voice of Wilde.
Some of my favorite lines:
"A really well made buttonhole is the only link between art and nature."
"When one pays a visit it's for the purpose of wasting other people's time and never one's own."
"If we men married women we deserved, we would have a very bad time of it."
Alright, so I am assuming that everyone here who loves this movie has never read the play. If you read the play then you will realize what a terrible, horrible movie this is. All of Oscar Wilde's wit is lost, and the ending is completely changed for the worse. Where is the part about the bracelet? And Mrs. Cheveley and Lord Goring should NEVER kiss- it takes the story to a different not as smart level. I just don't understand why people think they need to change stories that are already classics. The play is wonderful- the movie horrible. If you all say you like this movie so much, why don't you read the play it is based on? I think you will be much more entertained.
sharehmm i've read the play and seen it performed live (not quite as charming as i hadd hoped as the lady who played miss mable was not at all up to the standards set by minnie driver)and still think this is an utterly delighful, charming, witty and humorous film! i am, as stated earlier, very fond of the way miss mable was played. so very funny, anyways, so many favorite lines i couldn't possible list them all!
but the list most certainly includes :
"fashion is what one wears oneself, what is unfashionable is what other people wear. other people are quite dreadful."
"To love oneself is the beginning of a lifelong romance"
"to look at a thing is quite different from seeing a thing"
"Arthur, you silly, if you knew anything about anything, which you don't, you would know that i absolutly adore you"
well just a few! sorry if there are any mistakes... going from memory.
I prefer the 1969 version starring the young and dapper Jeremy Brett as Lord Goring. That version does have the part about the bracelet which, in my humble opinion, was a key part of the whole story.
Plus the 1969 version has the beautiful Susan Hampshire as Lord Goring's love interest. She's much more believable in the role than Minnie Driver is, in my humble opinion.
"The play is wonderful- the movie horrible. If you all say you like this movie so much, why don't you read the play it is based on? I think you will be much more entertained."
This doesn't make much sense. You say you love the play, but hate the movie. They say (and I do too) that they love the movie. How is that any indication that they'll like the play if they're different enough that you can hate one and love the other?
Either you're overreacting or your advice isn't very good.
I enjoyed the move thoroughly.
Flickfox is just saying that the play is so much better. So if you love the movie, you will love the play so much more that you will then be disappointed in the movie. I haven't seen the play, but I love the movie.
I love mostly Everett's lines. I think it is hilarious how his butler hangs on his every word. I didn't however really like Minnie or Julianne Moore in this movie. I didn't think either one seemed like a very good actress in this movie although I liked them in other things and I liked their characters.
Over-the-top drama, airheaded characters, ridiculous dialogue, and a silly setting... And I loved every stuffy second of it! LOL. Favorite guffaw moment:
"There comes a time in every son's life, when he must, indeed, follow his father's advice...
*sigh*
I shall go to bed at once!"
Wow this thread is old. Yes I enjoyed it and think about it now and then: mostly about the male dialogue --" you sir...-- and the women involved.
I don't however rec' this movie to others. If you don't find it for yourself you probably don't get it and likely wouldn't enjoy it.
I saw three dusters...inside the dusters were three men, inside the men were three bullets.